Electricity + Control March 2018

round up

HAZARDOUS AREAS + SAFETY

Pratley turns 70!

some money which he borrowed from his mother, to purchase a building site in Factoria, Krugersdorp, on which a factory and main offices were erected and are presently situated. Today the site hosts state of the art research and testing laboratories, modern manufacturing facilities and even a fully equipped technical training centre. In the words of Monty’s son Kim, “One of my father's most unique attributes was his total belief in his ability to succeed. Fail- ure was not in his vocabulary. Much of his tenacity still lives in the culture of the company to this day. I think our policy of producing products that outperform all others on the world market is testa- ment to that.” Enquiries:Tel. +27 (0) 11 955 2190 or visit www.pratleyelectrical.com

This year marks 70 years since George ‘Monty’ Pratley founded Pratley. Established in 1948, the company has since grown into a brand-leading electrical manufacturer that produces more than 1 000 electrical products, not to mention its impressive array of adhesive and minerals products. Pratley has filed over 350 patents world-wide and they even have a product on the Moon! The company’s electrical division produces innovative cable ter- mination products that include cable glands, junction boxes, termi- nals, connectors and related accessories. Those variants for use in hazardous locations comply with international IECEx Standards for Ex n, Ex e and Ex d explosion protected equipment. Many Pratley cable glands and boxes also comply with the European ATEX direc- tive. One of Pratley’s most famous electrical products is the Pratley Adjustable Cable Gland and as the name suggests, it’s a cable gland

that can be adjusted to fit any size steel wire armouring. “The Pratley Adjustable Cable Gland was and still is the only gland of its kind in the world” explains Marketing Di- rector, Eldon Kruger. “Its body also incorporates two unique differen- tial threads, one having a slightly coarser pitch than the other. The resultant effect is a very fine ‘virtu- al’ thread that produces immense clamping force when the gland is tightened. This is definitely a gland that does not pull out,” he adds. In the early days the original Pratley office was a small rented garage in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. In 1955, Monty used capital, and

Electricity + Control

MARCH 2018

45